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Hate crime rears its head once again Asian Voice | 4th March 2017
HOUSTON: Hundreds of people gathered in a peace march and prayer vigil in Kansas City, in light of the murder of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in a senseless triple shooting incident at a pub. Marchers celebrated his life, holding pictures and banners, shouting "We want peace", "Let us not leave our children", "Unity is part of community, together we stand, divided we fall." The march was also attended by Alok Madasani, another Indian who was wounded in the shooting, sisters of American Ian Grillot, who was injured that night when he intervened during the argument with shooter US Navy Veteran Adam Purinton, Lt Governor Jeff Colyer, US Congressman Kevin Yoder, Olathe Mayor Mike Copeland, Olathe Police Chief Steven Menke, and other state officials. The prayer was conducted by priests from different religions at the Hindu Temple and Cultural Centre. Alok fondly remembered Srinivas, and their nine years of friendship. "Srini was the kindest person you would meet, full of love, care, and compassion for everyone. He never
Srinivas Kuchibhotla
uttered a word of hatred, a simple gossip, or a careless comment. He would always make sure everyone is doing fine and taken good care." Adam Purinton opened fire at patrons watching a televised basketball game in Austin Bar and Grills, Olathe, Kansas. A bartender cited that the man used "racial slurs" before opening fire. Witnesses also said that he yelled "get out of my country". The deceased victim was identified as Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, and the two injured are Alok R Madasani, 32, and Ian P Grillot, 24. Purinton was drinking at the bar, when he mistook the men of Indian-origin as "Middle Eastern" said a wit-
ness. Addressing a press conference, a local prosecutor said Purinton has been charged with one count of premeditated first degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first degree murder. He currently awaits extradition to Kansas from Missouri. It remains unclear if Purinton will be charged with a federal hate crime. He is under a $2 million bond. Kuchibotla and Madasani, both worked as aviation engineers at a GPStechnology company, Garmin, with offices in Kansas. A mutual friend Siva Sattanathan said both of them were Hindus and originally from Hyderabad, India. The company released a statement of condolence saying, "We're saddened that two Garmin associates were involved in last night's incident, and we express our condolences to the family and friends of our co-workers involved. Garmin will have grievance counsellors on-site and available for its associates." The third victim, Grillot who attended high school, was separately located inside the bar, when he "stood up for
two people being mistreated by man who was in the wrong" says a GoFundMe page created by his sister. Another GoFundMe campaign set up to raise money to help Kuchibotla's family raised more than $170,000 by Thursday night. Purinton was arrested by the police at an Applebee's restaurant in Clinton, Missouri, 70 miles away from the scene of the incident. A bartender from the restaurant called the cops when Purinton revealed he had been involved in a shooting. Sources claim he said he had "just killed two Middle Eastern men." The Council on American-Islamic Relations have urged federal law enforcement to file hate crime charges against him. "There is a fear of the other that has been exacerbated during the election," said Adam Hamilton, a pastor in a nearby community. "The diversity is increasing. It's still small but it's growing. A small contingent in my congregation are Indian. So I want people in our church to think about what things must be like for them right now. And to let them know that we are thinking of them."
One-punch killer jailed for six years LONDON: Jobless plasterer Trevor Timon who killed a banker with a single punch in an “unprovoked” attack has been sentenced to six years in prison for the manslaughter of banker Oliver Dearlove. Thirty-one-year-old Timon punched Dearlove, 30, while the victim and his friends were talking to a group of women in Blackheath, south-east London, in August 2016. Timon demanded to
know what they were discussing and told his victim “if you don’t get out of my face I will knock you out”, the court heard. He then punched Dearlove in the side of the head with his left fist, sending him to the ground and knocking him out. He then punched Dearlove in the side of the head with his left fist, sending him to the ground and knocking him out. Dearlove, who worked at Duncan Lawrie Private
Oliver Dearlove
after a jury deliberated for three hours.
Indian embassy in Berlin organises diaspora event BERLIN: A second Diaspora event was organised by the Embassy of India in Berlin, on February 25, at the Embassy, where Indian associations, and prominent members Diaspora participated along with representatives of 16 Student Associations. The meet was organised with an aim to bring Indian
associations representing various states of India in Germany under one umbrella to discuss and deliberate on common issues and construct a suitable mechanism to progress further. Several initiatives undertaken by the Embassy of India were highlighted in the conference along with different programmes of the MEA.
Initiatives like the launching of Indian Professional Forum to leverage the talents of Indian professionals and to engage them in promoting start ups, Make in India Mittelstand (MIIM) programme to bring German companies to invest in India, and launching of Indian Students Germany portal were highlighted to promote
awareness. The Ambassador of India launched a new ebook chronicling all activities undertaken by the Embassy to strengthen the relationship between India and Germany. The conference also saw a guest lecture by Dr Joachim Oestarheld, a prominent researcher and Humboldt scholar, on the contributions of Indians in Germany.
EU ready to take more Indian skilled professionals NEW DELHI: The European Union has said that it was ready to accommodate more Indian IT professionals and has denounced any form of protectionism in global trade. The news comes at a time when the possibility of a potential clampdown on the H1B visa from the Trump administration hovers. A delegation of European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs pushed for deeper trade ties with India, expressing "regret" over failure by both sides to resume the stalled dialogue to
cement the long-pending EU-India trade and investment pact. Head of the delegation David McAllister said, "Europe is open for people with high demand. Indian people are highly skilled. Our IT sector would not have been successful if we did not have skilled professionals from India." He even criticised the new US government's protectionist rhetoric which triggered fears in Europe as well. One of the many changes Trump tried to push in over last month, included overhaul in work
visa programmes like the H1B and L1. On the other hand, McAllister pressed for early resumption of negotiations for the EU-India Broadbased Trade and Investment Agreement. Speaking to the press, he said his delegation urged the Indian leaders to resume the talks as the pact will boost two-way trade. "We deeply regret that we are not being able to move ahead. We will use the visit to call for resumption of talks for the agreement." The delegation is also scheduled to
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Kerala nurse stabbed in Kuwait
KUWAIT CITY: An Indian nurse from Kerala was stabbed in Kuwait City and is under treatment at Farwaniya Hospital there. India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, tweeting about the incident, said that India has taken up the issue of security of Indians in Kuwait at the highest level. "Our Embassy has taken up the matter at the highest level in Kuwait to ensure safety and security of Indian nationals there," she said. "I was informed about the stabbing of Mrs. Gopika Shajikumar an Indian national from Kottayam. I asked for an immediate report and we have complete details of the unfortunate incident," Swaraj tweeted.
Iraqi forces capture Mosul airport from IS
MOSUL: US-backed Iraqi security forces captured Mosul airport, state television said, in a major gain in operations to drive out Islamic State terror group from the western half of the city. Elite counterterrorism forces advanced from the southwestern side and also entered the Ghozlani army base along with the southwestern districts of Tal alRumman and al-Mamoun. Iraqi forces hope to use the airport as a launch pad for their campaign to drive the militants from Iraq's second largest city. After the capture, more than 100 civilians fled towards Iraqi security forces from al-Mamoun.
Russian MP skips House session, sends cutout instead
MOSCOW: A Russian MP has reportedly skipped a meeting in regional parliament, and asked his assistant to bring a cardboard cut out of himself instead. Vladimir Petrov, who had a broken leg, wanted to draw his colleagues' attention to the fact that many do not participate in parliamentary life opting to “stay silent and press buttons as they are told.” The event occurred at a parliamentary meeting for the Leningrad region. The action sparked anger among fellow MPs, with some asking for Petrov's assistant to be detained. “Can we all bring cardboard versions of ourselves to meetings or is just him? Does this mean that his vote will still be considered?” MP Andrei Lebdev said, asking for the cardboard cut out to be turned against the wall.
Muhammad Ali Jr. detained at Florida airport
Trevor Timon
Bank, died the next day in hospital. Timon, of Plumstead, admitted manslaughter but was cleared of murder last Wednesday at the Old Bailey
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hold talks with a number of Union Ministers, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Vice Chairman of NITI Ayog Arvind Panagariya and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, among others. Another European Parliament Delegations for Relations with India is also in the country, and it had strongly sought resumption of talks for the trade pact during its meetings with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
MIAMI: Muhammad Ali Jr., son of the late legendary boxer, was reportedly detained for several hours by immigration officials at an airport in Florida. According to the report, Ali Jr. and his mother Khalilah Camacho-Ali were arriving at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport from a Black History Month event in Jamaica on February 7 when they were pulled aside by customs and asked if they were Muslims. Ali's lawyer Chris Mancini told the Courier-Journal that while Camacho-Ali was let go, her son was questioned for almost two hours about his origin, where he was born and his religion.
Pakistan returns 252 Afghans in goodwill gesture
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has returned 252 Afghan nationals to their home country in a goodwill gesture even as it kept the border entry points with Afghanistan shut for security reasons in the wake of a series of bombings. The Afghan nationals, who were returned, spent a week under the open sky as the Torkham border crossing point between two nations remained closed for nearly 10 days. Trade between Islamabad and Kabul has come to a halt as Pakistani authorities closed the Torkham and Chaman crossing points with Afghanistan due to security concerns in the wake of series of terror attacks across the country. People with valid travel documents were allowed to cross the border on foot, a Pakistani official said.
Gunmen fire at Lanka prison bus; seven killed
COLOMBO: Gunmen opened fire on a prison bus in Colombo, killing five prisoners and two warders on their way to court in what was believed to be a gangland dispute. Thushara Upuldeniya, spokesman for the Prison Department, said an armed gang blocked the bus transporting the prisoners, who included an underworld figure. "All five prisoners and two prison officers died.”